The Nature of Science
by darkangel9314
Summary: Sequel to The Art of Deception: 10 years after Elena married Damon and changed her life forever, she is invited back to her old school to help with a group of troubled teens, but can Elena escape her past there? And will she accomplish saving these kids while building a healthy relationship with her daughter.
1. Chapter 1

The Nature of Science

Chapter 1

Elena looked hard at her newest painting as a kiss was placed on her neck. She giggled and turned around to kiss her husband. So far her life had turned out amazingly and she couldn't be happier. She had a loving husband and a beautiful teenage daughter. She couldn't ask for more.

She looked at Damon who had a note in his hand and gave him a questioning look. He handed her the envelope and she opened it.

"So what does it say?"

"They want me to come back to the school and be a mentor to teenagers who are in bad living situations or having problems in their lives."

"It sounds like a pretty good opportunity."

She shrugged and went back to looking at her painting. After all these years she never expected for her school to invite her back. After what happened with her during her pregnancy she was shocked they invited her back at all. She didn't think she was that good of a role model.

"So what do you think?" Damon asked sitting down next to her.

"I think this is a mistake. They have the wrong girl."

"Or maybe they have the right girl and you just don't want to admit it."

She smiled and turned around.

"I don't like it there Damon. I have bad memories."

"Maybe this is your chance to make some new ones. Come on Elena, what do you have to lose?"

"My dignity."

He grabbed her hand and looked deep into her eyes.

"This is a great opportunity Elena and you could really help a person when almost no one was there for you."

Elena smiled. She had to admit that Damon had a point.

"So will you do it?"

"Fine, I'll do it, but it's only because you're so convincing and maybe this will give me a chance to get more involved in my daughter's life."

Damon smiled and kissed Elena's forehead.

"That's my girl."

Elena just hoped that it would all be worth it.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note: To fully understand this story I advise you first read The Art of Deception since this story is it's follow up story, but besides that I hope you enjoy it. Also I have made some slight adjustments to where Elena's daughter is a teenager so enjoy the story and I hope it brings The Art of Deception some justice. Also please disregard that Elena was a teenager when she became pregnant with her baby with Damon that was a plot that I wanted to do for The Art of Deception, but I decided against it. Instead I went with a new approach to the story and I hope everyone enjoys it.

The Nature of Science

Chapter 2

Elena

Elena took a deep calming breath as she took the steps two at a time to the school that had once been an amazing place to be, but in its current years had stopped being such an amazing school. The reason that the school had started this support group in the first place was because of recent events that had occurred. One of her daughter's dearest friends had been murdered and there was still no evidence about who had done it. She just hoped that whatever her daughter was feeling she didn't go off the rails and try to find out who killed Casssidy herself.

She loved her daughter with all her heart and she would hate if anyone touched a single hair on her head. She just hoped that this experience would bring her closer to her family and help out whoever she could help.

Elena looked across the way and smiled at the sight of her daughter talking to her best friend Seth. He was now a junior in high school (thanks to some unfortunate grades) and her daughter Phoebe was now a freshman. Her heart ached for her daughter since she had to deal with the tragedy of her friend's death so young, but she knew that one day she would see her daughter smile again.

She waved at her daughter, but all that got her was a casual eye roll as she went back to talking to Seth who was now joined by his girlfriend, Darla. It was still strange how Seth never really gave Phoebe a chance, but it wasn't her place to say who anyone dated so she would leave her daughter's life alone and just focus on hers.

Elena walked into the office where she was greeted by the head advisor who was responsible for the program. She instantly smiled at who it was.

"Hi It's nice to see you again Mrs. Salvatore."

"Caroline Mikaelson, Is that any way to talk to your best friend?"

Caroline laughed and pulled Elena into a hug. It had been a while since they actually saw each other and she had been thrilled that Caroline would be along for this ride not to mention their other friend Bonnie.

"Well I see I missed out on the group hug" Bonnie said squeezing inbetween the two of them so she could get into the hug.

"Did you think we'd ever forget about you Bonnie Gilbert-Bennett?" Caroline smiled.

The name was a mouthful, but Elena was finally getting used to it and she was happy to call Bonnie her sister in law.

"Well ladies, Are you guys ready to go see what you're dealing with?" Caroline said with a smile on her face.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Elena said entwining her arm with Bonnie's.

When Elena was finally in her assigned room, she was more or less greeted by five faces, one of which was her daughter's best friend and Caroline's son Seth. She didn't know how effective this was going to be, but she was willing to mentor him and help him out with whatever he needed. She knew it was hard sometimes to talk to parents about uncomfortable subject matter. She just wondered what exactly Seth was hiding.

"Hello everyone, My name is Elena Salvatore but you can call me Elena. I'll be here for the next sixteen weeks to help you with any problems that you may be facing in your social life or any other aspect of your life. There will be private one on one session twice a week and the rest will be group meeting. Any question?"

The group stayed silent as Elena thought that everything was going well so far.

"Okay. We'll start with introductions. Who would like to go first?"

A girl with soft brown hair and blue eyes stood up.

"Hi my name is Peyton and I'm here, because Cassidy was one of my teammates that I was close to, so my teachers thought I might need a therapist and to get them off my back I agreed. I also have a boyfriend who everyone hates, because they think he's the one who killed her, but I doubt that he did."

"You doubt that he did? Your boyfriend was a possessive douchebag when he dated Cassidy and he's going to be the same way with you. just wait and see." Seth said narrowing his eyes.

"Shut the fuck up Seth. You're just repeating what your precious Phoebe thinks."

Elena winced at the mention of her daughter, but she decided to stay out of it. It was her job to have an unbiased opinion after all.

"Well in that case. My name is Seth Mikaelson and I apparently long for someone who I can have in a nano second if I wanted to. No offense Mrs. Salvatore."

"Okay. Who's next?" Elena said smiling.

"Hi my name is Harrison and I like starting fights."

"My name is Nevada. I'm here because I shoplifted a few things and my parents freaked out. I'm also having conflicting feelings about my sexual orientation. I've always chased the boys all my life, but I'm really starting to like this girl and I don't give a damn if any of you approve of who I date or not, because I know not a single one of you are saints."

Nevada sat down as a guy who looked similar to her sat up.

"Hi I'm Nevada's brother Scorpio and my parents were apparently invested in the zodiac sign hence my name. I'm also Peyton's boyfriend's best friend so you better watch your mouth pretty boy. I knew that Cass wasn't a saint. Did you?"

"Alright that's enough, I will not tolerate fighting in here do you two understand me?"

Scorpio and Seth nodded their heads as they sank in their chairs. Elena resisted the urge to roll her eyes. This group would apparently take some time to adjust to and she had no idea what the future held for her and this group. She would just have to wait and hold it out.


	3. Chapter 3

The Nature of Science

Chapter 3

Elena sighed as she sat in the uncomfortable chair that she would accompany for at least three hours while she got to know her kids personally. She hoped it wouldn't be that bad, but these were troubled teens and she was their mentor of sorts. Even if she didn't like what she was doing , she would still be there for these kids no matter what happened.

Peyton was first and she was without a doubt one of the ones that Elena was the most interested in. Elena had heard about Cassidy's murder via her daughter some time ago, but she had never met someone who was actually with the person who her daughter accused of killing her best friend. They hadn't even held the funeral yet, but Elena was sure it would be horrible for Phoebe to endure.

"Hello Peyton it's nice to see you again."

"Hello Mrs. Salvatore."

"Well as you may know you're teacher sent you to me, because you were one of the people who knew Cassidy personally."

"Listen I don't understand why people assumed I knew Cassidy personally. I mean yeah she was on my soccer team and I exchanged a few words with her before she died, but let's get one thing straight. The only reason I'm even in this mess in the first place was because I fucked her boyfriend the night she died. I had always had a crush on him and I didn't feel an ounce of symphony as her boyfriend and I did the nasty. She was just an obstacle in my way."

"What was the last thing you ever said to Cassidy?"

"Well Mrs. Salvatore, it's not like it's any of your business, but the last thing me and Cassidy did was have a disagreement about Harold."

"What happened?"

"Apparently she was being abused by him and occasionally I would see the brusises on her, but I had no idea if she did it to herself or not. Cassidy did have a reputation for being a psychotic bitch, so when she found out that I liked her boyfriend she confronted me and told me to stay away if I knew what was good for me, but guessed what I did. I took what I wanted that night and he didn't even have a single regret about it. Neither did I."

Elena bulked at Peyton's honesty. This would be more difficult then she had originally thought, but she had to make it through. It was obvious that this girl needed some major help, but Elena couldn't help her if she found that there was nothing wrong in her relationship with a possible murder.

"Now that I poured my heart out to you Mrs. Salvatore, may I be excused for the day? I promised Harold that I would meet him for dinner and he always hates it when I'm late."

"Go ahead and can you send Seth."

A knowing smile flashed over Peyton's face as Elena mentioned Seth's name. Did she know something about her daughter's best friend that she didn't.

"With pleasure Mrs. Salvatore."

Peyton exited the room and a short while later Seth entered. Elena had no idea why Seth had been assigned to her after all she had basically watched this boy grow up right beside her daughter.

"Hi Seth."

"Hello Mrs. Salvatore. It's nice to see you again."

"It's nice to see you too Seth. So what do they have you in for?"

"I honestly have no clue Mrs. Salvatore. All I know is that I hardly knew Cassidy and the only possible reason I know for them sending me here was because I'm close with your daughter."

"Well we do have some time is there anything you would like to share with me instead. I know talking about death can me an uncomfortable subject."

"Actually there is something I would like to talk to you about."

"Go ahead Seth anything that is said in here will remain in here."

"Well actually I'm kind of torn Mrs. Salvatore as you may know I've been dating the captain of the cheerleading team ever since 7th grade, but as of lately I've found myself having feeling for this other girl. She's funny and smart and well drop dead gorgeous but last week I complicated my relationship with Darla by doing something that I should have been ashamed of but I wasn't"

"What happened Seth?"

"I slept with the other girl. I mean I've never gone that far with her, so far it's just been a lot of kissing and inappropriate touching in classrooms when the teacher wasn't looking, but when we were out and about a couple of days ago I found that I couldn't stop myself from having sex with her. It felt amazing even better than sex with Darla ever has. I really want to be with her Mrs. Salvatore, but I've built my reputation up here, because if Darla and she could take that away from me with in a second."

"I can't tell you what to do in this situation Seth. It's really not my place to give you advice. All I can tell you is listen to your heart and it should never steer you wrong."

Seth smiled at her as she felt a little uneasy. After all this was Seth she was talking about. This was Caroline and Klaus's son who was admitting to her that he was sleeping with two girls, but Elena knew she shouldn't judge after all she had been fooling around some with Damon in high school while she was still with this other guy named Stefan. She just had to hope that things would work out for Seth in the end and he wouldn't have to lose both of these girls.

After she had finished up with Seth, She listened to Harrison's unhealthy obsession with fighting and how much this guy hated Harold and then she talked to Nevada about her shoplifting addiction until finally she rolled around to Scorpio.

He also defended Harold like Peyton did, but she figured this was more of a best friend thing. She had no clue how innocent this Harold guy was, but it wasn't her job to play detective. It was only her job to council these kids for the year. And so far she had no doubt that this would be one of her most challenging experiences of her life.


	4. Chapter 4

The Nature of Science

Chapter 5

Elena sat at the kitchen table drinking coffee as her daughter Phoebe entered the room. She had heard all the rooms swirling around school she just had to figure out if they were right.

"Phoebe?"

"What is it mom?"

"How are things going?"

"As best as they can be. I mean my best friend just died mom. There's nothing that fucks up a teenager more than that."

"How are things with you and Seth going?"

"I guess there fine. Why do you ask?"

"I know how much things like this can put a strain on your relationship Phoebe."

"Well maybe you should learn how to mind your own business mom. There's nothing going on between me and Seth. You got that. Now please stop asking about my life, because believe it or not mom I do not want to tell you everything."

Elena exhaled as her daughter left her alone with her own thoughts.


	5. Chapter 5

The Nature of Science

Chapter 5

Peyton had always hated the other girls in her school. They were all so shallow with their perfect lives and their perfect boyfriends. While they were out trying to decide what dress they would wear to the school's numerous dances, Peyton was always trying to escape from her stalker turned boyfriend Daniel.

It had been two years since Daniel had taken her away from her crack addicted parents and had thrown her into his house of terrors. She honestly couldn't tell a person which one was worse. She sighed and went into the house horrified to see that Daniel was actually home and with one of the bimbos that she liked to call Kimbra.

In another life, Peyton wouldn't have minded if her and Kimbra were friends, but in this life Kimbra was a girl who she shared Daniel with, because Daniel wasn't a one woman kind of guy. He liked them in all shapes and sizes. Kimbra was his newest conquest while Peyton was just some junkie whores daughter who Daniel had felt sorry for.

"Hey." Peyton said interrupting the two mid makeout session.

Kimbra had given her at least a wave of acknowledgement while Daniel had given her the you're not worthy stare and continued what he had been previously doing. Peyton sighed and headed up to the bathroom. At least there was something that could help her avoid her pain.

She popped a few pain peels and grabbed the razor carefully cutting the vertical lines in her skin. She watched the blood drip down her arm in fascination as it went into the sink. She grabbed her special towel and placed it over her arm to stop the bleeding as she smiled to herself. As long as she had her blade then she would have everything.


	6. Chapter 6

The Nature of Science

Chapter 6

Seth looked around to make sure the coast was clear as he knocked on Phoebe's door. She answered it in only her underwear, which made Seth want to take her right then and there, but he had to be pateint. Phoebe always enjoyed playing a little cat and mouse and today was no exception.

He walked into her room as she tossed herself across her bed getting back to doing her homework.

"Hey phebes." he said smiling.

"What do you want? I'm busy."

His smile flattered a little. Looks like she was in a bad mood.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" he said slamming the door.

"Please. You know why I'm pissed."

"I'm not sure what I did, but let me make it up to you."

He shoved her on the bed and kissed her with full force. She always seemed to love it when he did that. It appeared as if this time was no exceeption as she acceoted his kiss and their clothes fell away. He just hoped that no one ever found out about them or else he was screwed.


	7. Chapter 7

The Nature of Science

Chapter 7

Elena exhaled as she wrote the last of her notes. It had been a week since she started with the kids and she still hadn't made any progress with any of her kids. Espicially Seth and Peyton. They were the toughest to get through. She just wished she knew what to say to help them. She had a session with both of them today and she had no clue what to say or do to help them. She knew that not everyone could be helped, but she would try her damn hardest to try to get through to them. All it would take is one moment where they would let her in. One moment of pure trust in Elena's character. She just hoped they would fine that trust in her and allow her to help.

Today she was meeting with Scorpio and Nevada. One was a shoplifter and the other one had some issue that she had no clue about. She would also meet with Peyton, because she had asked if they could schedule a meeting. First was Nevada who came in in her normal clothes. She had been progressing lately and hadn't shoplifted as much. Elena wished she stopped it all together, but hey small victories were better than no victories.

After her meeting with Nevada, Scorpio came in and crossed his legs putting them on the desk. It usually annoyed Elena, but today she would let it slide.

"Hello Mrs. Salvatore,. How are you today?"

"I'm fine Scorpio. How are you?"

His face turned into a slight frown as he looked out the window. Something was distracting him today.

"I'm fine I guess."

"Really, because you seem rather distracted."

"I don't think that's any of your business."

"It's why i'm here."

"No you're here, because everyone is suddenly sorry that this girl died, but when she was alive they thought she was one of the worst people ever. That's the funny thing about death. No one truly ever misses a person until they're gone. "

"Interesting perspective."

Scorpio shrugged as if he couldn't care less.

"How did you feel when she died?"

He shrugged again.

"You must have felt something."

"We all feel something Mrs. Salvatore. Sometimes it's regret and sometimes it's remorse."

"Sometimes it's just sadness. So tell me which one do you feel the strongest of?"

"If I tell you will you drop the subject?"

"I don't see why not."

"I feel regret."

"Why?"

"Sorry that's all the questions you get today Mrs. Salvatore. Maybe next time."

Scorpio stood up and walked out the door leaving Elena to wonder why in every emotion he could possibly feel why was regret one of them?


	8. Chapter 8

The Nature of Science

Chapter 8

Elena sighed as she closed her files. She just didn't know what to do with these kids. She just didn't think she could do anything write. It also didn't help that these kids were trying to be as difficult as possible with her. It was amazing that she hadn't gave up yet, but there was something keeping her there that she couldn't explain. She sighed again just as Damon walked in with a sack of Chinese food in his hand. It was like he knew her so well.

She smiled at him and took the Chinese food happy to have her orange chicken. It had been one of those days and she was happy to have her husband to lean on.

"Thank you."

"You looked like you needed it."

Elena smiled again as she kissed him. She was so lucky to have a husband like him.

He sat down next to her and pulled her to him just letting her relax. This experience had been nothing but stressful and there were even times she felt like giving up. This was one of those times. She didn't want to fail Bonnie or Caroline, but she felt as if she was getting nowhere and these kids deserved someone who would get them somewhere. It just wasn't her.

"What's got you so down?"

"I feel like I'm not cut out or this anymore Damon. These kids have problems that I can't fix unless they let me help them."

"This doesn';t seem like the Elena Salvatore I know."

She looked at him willing him to explain.

"Listen Elena you've never let me give up, so I'm not allowing you to give up. These kids need you even if you don't think they do. "

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because the Elena I fell in love with is in there somewhere and I know she can connect to these kids.I believe that she can. Now all you have to do is believe."

Elena smiled and leaned into him.

"Thank you."


	9. Chapter 9

The Nature of Science

Chapter 9

It was a dark and stormy night when Elena Salvatore heard a knock on her door. It was two in the morning and Elena was lying in the bed with Damon. She didn't know what this was about all she knew was that she had to get it before it woke up either one of her kids and she knew how cranky they would get.

She threw the covers off of her and went downstairs wondering who could be knocking on her door this late at night. When she opened her door she gasped in shock. What the hell had happened to her?

She looked at a wet and shaking Peyton taking her all in. She had bruises up and down her body and she was even bleeding in a few places.

"Mrs. Salvatore please help." she said before collapsing into Elena's arms.


	10. Chapter 10

The Nature of Science

Chapter 10

Elena couldn't describe the feelings she had when Peyton had collapsed into her arms. What the hell had happened to her? Still holding onto Peyton, Elena called out to Damon as she heard his footsteps echo down the stairs. Finally his face came into view as she heard another pair of footsteps coming down the stairs. Elena looked over and saw Phoebe looking onto the scene in horror. Her hand covered her mouth in shock as Elena turned her attention back to Peyton.

"Mom, what's going on? What happened to Peyton?"

"I don't know sweetie. Go ahead and go back upstairs."

Phoebe nodded as she went back upstairs and Damon lifted Peyton onto the couch. Damon went to call 911 as Elena examined Peyton's wounds more closely. Who had done this to her?

Damon sat beside her and pulled her closer as they waited to see what Peyton's fate would be.


End file.
